Join us for this special program as part of our second floor gallery exhibition, The Open Workshop: New Investigations in Collective Form.

Neeraj Bhatia of The Open Workshop and Florian Idenburg of the firm SO-IL will present on Umberto Eco’s The Open Work, an influential text for both firms.

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About the exhibition:

The Open Workshop: New Investigations in Collective Form presents a group of design experiments by Bay Area design-research studio The Open Workshop that test how architecture can empower the diverse voices that make up the public realm and the environments in which they exist. Today, society continues to face urban challenges—from economic inequality to a progressively fragile natural environment—that, in order to be addressed, require us to come together in a moment when what we collectively value is increasingly difficult to locate.

The design experiments include a series of models, drawings, plants, and artifacts that hang within the gallery, creating an interconnected three-dimensional field that can be adjusted by the visitor. These interactive installations are arranged into five themes—Soft Frameworks, Articulated Surfaces, the Living Archive, Re-Wiring States, and Commoning—and provide a space for the public to engage in a dialogue regarding how form interfaces with the social, political, and environmental realms. The exhibition aims to reveal the different ways that architectural form can create inclusive forums for a multitude of voices to reflect who we are today.

The Open Workshop: New Investigations in Collective Form is the third installment of The City Initiative, which highlights architects, designers, planners, and artists creating provocative work in urban environments. The Open Workshop, founded by architect and urban designer Neeraj Bhatia, focuses on the relationship between territory, form, and equity.